The best way for me to get back into a manuscript, particularly one I haven’t looked at in some time, is to listen to the playlist I made when I did the first draft. Fact: I don’t write well unless I have music. It keeps me from thinking about things unrelated to my WIP and it allows me to get into my character’s head. If I know what music my character listens to, I know who my character is. For me it’s that simple.

Each (main) character has a theme song. Or for any baseball fans out there, an “at bat” song (the song that plays every time a player steps up to the plate.) Even I have an “at bat” song (Red Hot Chili Pepper’s “Dani California”) that I play before a presentation or interview or when I need a boost in my confidence. It’s also my go-to song in Rock Band. When these character’s appear on the page, the “at bat” song that signals their arrival. Often I have to jump between manuscripts (because I can never just do one thing at a time), and while I don’t enjoy it, I can do it just by changing my playlist. Not all playlists have a diverse mix like Lethal does. In my first YA manuscript The Good Girl, I pretty much listened to Grand Hallway on repeat. For NaNoWriMo 2011 I pretty much only listened to country music, which is one of my least favorite genres, but it fit the story.

In LethalI have two main characters: Jessica and Trey. Jessica’s theme song was easy. She’s a badass who tells it like it is, but she’s also fiercely loyal to Trey. For her I chose Joan Jett’s “Bad Reputation.”

Trey was much harder, partially because he’s so complex. On the outside he appears to be a stereotypical baller and player, but underneath he’s actually a good guy who’s in love with his best friend (Jessica), who treats his granddad well, and who heard his mom get shot to death when he was nine. After a lot of consideration, I chose Drake’s “Headlines.”